Premier Wen Jiabao ended the State Council's financial working conference Saturday with a speech that, while vague in detail, likely sent clear messages to the different regulators as to the direction the leadership wishes to follow. In his speech, published by state media, Wen said China would "actively explore and expand new uses for the country's foreign exchange reserves". Analysts saw this as an indication that a dedicated investment agency would be set up to improve returns on these reserves, the South China Morning Post reported. He also announced a commitment to "speed up development of the bond market", which is expected to signal a shift in control of the struggling corporate bond market from the National Development and Reform Commission to the securities regulator. In addition China Development Bank was singled out as the institution to lead the way as the policy banks become more commercially-oriented.
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